Rosalynn Carter's advocacy for mental health was rooted in compassion and perseverance

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November 21st, 2023

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter discusses the Institute of Medicine report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm: Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders," during the 21st annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy at the Carter Center, Nov. 3, 2005, in Atlanta. Health care experts say the advocacy of Carter, who died Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96, created a framework for much of the progress on mental illness in America. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)

The sun was shining in June 1979 as Rosalynn Carter made her way through an enthusiastic crowd in Laconia, New Hampshire.

“She shook my hand!” yelled one delighted participant.

The first lady was in the state for her husband’s reelection campaign, but this was no political rally. Instead, she was at a sprawling 75-year-old institution founded for “feebleminded” children that the U.S. Justice Department had deemed “a classic example of warehousing.” She was joined by Gov. Hugh Gallen, a kindred spirit who had been pushing to correct the deplorable conditions there and at the state’s psychiatric hospital.

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